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Urban growth is a spatial and demographic process and refers to the increased
importance of towns and cities as a concentration o f population within a particular
economy and society! 1], The spatial formation and the dynamics of urban growth are
important topics of analysis in the urban studies. At early stages scholars considered
Western and Asian urbanization process to be a result of urban rural migration. Later
various scholars felt that there arc some differences in the Asian urbanization process.
In 1970 McGcc-Ginsburg concluded that Asian urbanization is not a result o f urban
rural migration and that it is an economic transformation o f agricultural activities to non
agricultural activities. Although, the McGce-Ginsburg model captures the sociodcmographic dimensions of the rapid urbanization process, little is known about the
dynamics o f landscape structures in the emerging desakota regions in Asia. G1S and
remote sensing applications have the possibility to identify this dynamic landscape
structure. Aim o f this paper is to explore the landscape dynamics and socio
demographic transition of Colombo district in Sri Lanka. It also expects to review its
emergence of desakota regions in Colombo district.
